The state's Revenue Forecasting Committee today predicted that state revenues will lag by $35 million this fiscal year and by $128 million for the two-year budget cycle starting next July.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) _ The stubbornly weak economy is darkening Maine's revenue prospects for the next two years by more than $160 million, and the gloomy new figures will likely force Gov. Paul LePage to issue a spending curtailment order in mid-December.

The state's Revenue Forecasting Committee today prepared numbers to be formally presented to lawmakers on Thursday. They show revenues lagging by $35 million this fiscal year and by $128 million for the two-year budget cycle starting next July.

Maine Finance Commissioner Sawin Millett says the biggest contributors to the red ink are under-performance of sales and corporate taxes.

The LePage administration is getting ready for immediate action on the $35 million shortfall. The governor's curtailment order would cut back spending in select areas without affecting necessary services.